Futago no Noroi
by TornButterflyWings
Summary: Futago no noroi, the curse of the twins has always haunted the Uchiha clan up until now. Watch as the twin brothers, Naruto and Sasuke strive to fight their curse and achieve their dreams.   AU NO YAOI! pairings not decided yet.
1. Chapter 1

Futago no Noroi (curse of the twins)

Chapter 1 – The Living Legends

The Rikudō Sennin was the legendary figure who founded the ninja world and was the creator of modern ninjutsu, as well as the first Jinchuuriki. He had three sons from which the three great clans of the Uchiha, Hyuuga and Senju descended. But there was one thing that separated one of these clans from the other two. This clan was the Uchiha. Through the centuries they were known to be a powerful, ferocious clan. They killed their best friends and siblings to gain various forms of the Sharingan, their legendary doujutsu. They were also known to revel in battle and enjoy it.

Because of their ferocious blood thirsty nature no twins were born into the Uchiha clan. If twins were formed in the mother's womb they fought until one presided and the other died, and if both were born they didn't live long, as one consumed the other sooner or later. This was one of the many dark secrets of the Uchiha clan. It was called Futago no Noroi, curse of the twins. The animalistic bloody cycle continued through the ages until some centuries later Mikoto Uchiha, the wife of Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan, gave birth to a set of twins, Naruto and Sasuke.

* * *

_ On the night of October 10__th__ Mikoto lay in the main bedroom of the Uchiha clan compound as she gave birth to a set of twins, something that had never happened in the History of the Uchiha clan._

_When the news had spread that she was having twins everyone expected the usual, as they all knew and feared the curse of the twins. While giving birth to twins it was more painful than usual for an Uchiha woman as this was not supposed to happen. Even the usually optimistic Mikoto had given hope when she first heard that she had conceived twins. But then she had been informed by a medic that the they had not been fighting at all. They were living in perfect harmony; it was almost as if they were trying to resist their fate. _

_From they were formed in their Kaasan's womb Naruto and Sasuke were different; they had already begun to resist the animalistic fate of the Uchiha clan._

* * *

_Mikoto clenched her teeth to bite back another scream as a fresh wave of indescribable pain overtook her. She refused to give up again, she would give birth to the twins and they would fight their curse and rise above the dark secret that the twins of the Uchiha clan bore. They would be different, she just knew it._

_She had always hated how every time she walked through the Uchiha district her fellow clan's people would whisper and stare. She could see their pitiful looks and hear their whispers of her fate. She resented it with every bone in her body; she wanted to prove them wrong. After bearing the pain for what seemed like an eternity Mikoto simultaneously gave birth to two boys, and the two males flanking her on other side smiled in relief._

_Fugaku felt slightly shocked as deep inside his soul he had believed everyone else, he had believed that the twins would not survive their curse. Minato Namikaze, Fugaku's best friend also smiled in relief, and let his hands, which were crossed on top of Mikoto's stomach where the seal holding the Kyuubi no Kitsune lay, relax a bit. He had been terribly worried for the wife of his best friend and had made sure to be present at the birth of her children to make sure the seal did not break, as its weakest point was during childbirth. A full term pregnancy for a Jinchuuriki was 10 months, and as the energy used to maintain the seal starts going to nurture the child the seal weakens in direct proportion._

_Mikoto Uchiha, wife of Fugaku Uchiha was also the third Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no kitsune; her aunt, the wife of the former head of the clan had been the second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi had always been in the possession of the Uchiha clan as the Sharingan could control the mighty beast._

_Mikoto had hated herself for holding the evil beast but much to her disbelief she had been welcomed warmly into the clan after becoming the new Jinchuuriki when her aunt died. But never the less it was still hard being a Jinchuuriki. She never knew who her real friends were._

_Biwako Sarutobi handed a weak and tired but overjoyed Mikoto her sons. The Uchiha mother, looked lovingly down at her theads and held them close, her eyes brimming with unshed tears._

"_Naruto, Sasuke." She whispered and as she did the two newborns opened their eyes. One possessed an alluring ocean blue, and the other a deep raven. On cue they both began to cry, but Naruto more loudly than Sasuke. Mikoto pulled them closer to her chest and rocked them gently, hushing their wails into silence._

_The twins both had the generic pale skin of the Uchiha clan and the aristocratic features which were nearly identical, but their face shape differed slightly. On top of either of their head's was a small tuft of black hair. The only thing that differentiated them was their eyes. One had the black eyes of the Uchiha clan and the other had inherited the rare colour from his mother. They were a captivating ocean blue which glimmered in the light and contrasted with his pale skin and dark hair. He was called Naruto. _

_Fugaku leaned over Mikoto and stroked the heads of his sons lovingly, while he whispered,_

"_Our wish has come true Mikoto-chan, hontou ni shiawase da…." As the two Uchihas celebrated the birth of their sons Minato suddenly stiffened as he felt a foreign presence enter the heavily guarded room. He immediately knew it was no normal shinobi, as the chakra levels were abnormally high. On cue a vortex of space, created by a strange space time jutsu, used by the strange nin, appeared in the room and his presence was revealed. The nin was covered in a black cloak and over his face was an orange mask with a small whole at the left side and random black markings covering its surface. Biwako Sarutobi and Taji, the other mid wife, quickly stood up to defend the children but the nin quickly and easily killed them and swiped the twins out of Kushina grasp. He held a kunai dangerously over the face of the twins while standing passively, ignoring Mikoto's screams of anger. Fugaku and Minato immediately jumped to their feet, their bodies in full battle mode, the latter's Sharingan swirling dangerously._

"_Back away from the Jinchuuriki or your sons will die at the ripe old age of one minute," said the masked nin, his cynical voice laced with danger. Fugaku grit his teeth and looked at Minato. They had never needed to share words in order to understand each other. As if some phrenic message had passed between the two shinobi they acted simultaneously. Fugaku charged directly at the nin, his Sharingan blazing with anger while Minato Hiraishined to catch the falling twins as the nin disappeared. The masked shinobi then reappeared behind Minato and Fugaku, and in a flash disappeared with Mikoto._

"_Fugaku follow them," ordered Minato in the authoritative voice of a Hokage. "I'll get the twins to safety." The Uchiha nodded in response and in a flash was gone. Minato quickly told one of the Uchiha guards who had awoken from the slumber the masked nin had induced upon him, to fetch Itachi. In less than two minutes the Uchiha prodigy appeared in the room, dressed in his full battle gear, his mature 7 yr old face set in a stoic but dangerous expression, he would protect his brothers no matter what. Minato didn't have to issue any orders to the prodigy as he immediately knew what to do. The legendary Hokage nodded at his god son and in a flash of yellow he disappeared._

* * *

_ Minato reappeared on the outskirts of the village where he had sensed the nine tails chakra, and indeed his in instincts were right. In the clearing where an exhausted barely alive Mikoto lay the Kyuubi roared above her. A badly injured Fugaku struggled to get to his feet as he refused to back down. He was determined to punish the nin for what he had done to his wife. _

_The Kyuubi roared into the night skies, its demonic cries, beholding and underlying tone of pain. The crimson eyes of the kitsune stared madly as it thrashed around the clearing, all the while bellowing madly. Then, suddenly turned and struck out at Mikoto, its former Jinchuuriki._

_Minato quickly Shunshined to where a badly injured Mikoto lay, swiping her out of the Kyuubi's magnitude. As the blonde Hokage held Mikoto in his arms he could feel her blood soaking his clothes, it was a miracle that she was still alive. _

_Minato looked over at his friend, he knew Fugaku couldn't hold up much longer. The Yondaime looked down at the suffering woman in his arms,_

"_M-Minato, please don't let any harm come to Naruto and Sasuke…..onigai shimasu." She managed to whisper._

"_Mikoto-chan, please hold on, you'll be ok, I'll make sure Fugaku and the twins are daijoubou, watashi no yakusoku." Mikoto looked up at Minato her blue eyes brimming with pain filled tears._

_Minato turned to begin his battle but found that the masked shinobi had disappeared and traced his chakra signature in the direction of Konoha. _

" _Kuso, Fugaku," said Minato seriously "you know what this means, right?"_

"_No Minato you can't do it, Mikoto will never forgive me."_

"_Gomen nasai Fugaku, I know this is not what you wanted but it has to be done, I'll use Naruto as the Kyuubi's new vessel."_

"_Minato…" said Fugaku his expression stoic but Minato could always read his friend's true thoughts. Fugaku gave a slight nod and Minato smiled slightly. He felt better knowing he had finally got his friend's approval. After all it was a heavy fate he would be placing onto the shoulders of a new born baby. _

_"Choto mate," said Fugaku between his fit of coughs "there is something you should know, the nuke nin had the Sharingan." Minato's eyes widened at this. His puzzle had been solved. From the way the shinobi moved and the fact that he had the Sharingan there was only one person he could think of…Uchiha Madara. _

_The Namikaze, turned, his coat flapping in the wind as he sped towards Konoha, his mind set on his task ahead._

_Meanwhile in Konoha_

_Sarutobi clenched his teeth as the Kyuubi ploughed through the defenses of the leaf shinobi. He could hear the screams of the civilians and the yells of the dying ninja. Blood covered the ground and not one building was standing. It had all started when a strange shinobi in a mask appeared and cast a summoning jutsu, by which the great demon, the Kyuubi no Kitsune appeared and began to wreck havoc on the village of Konohagakure._

_The Sandaime began to give up hope as he knew they couldn't hold back the Kyuubi any longer, so many had died already._

'_Where the hell is Minato?' thought the retired Hokage and as if the heavens had heard his desperate cry the Yondaime Hokage appeared in a poof of smoke on the head of Gamabunta, a tiny raven haired baby in his arms, his signature white cloak flapping in the night breeze. Upon seeing the poof of smoke and the familiar head of blonde hair the struggling shinobis felt a fresh wave of determination overtake them. Their savior had come._

* * *

'_This is bad…..' thought Minato and her turned to the huge toad upon which he stood._

"_Gamabunta hold the fox down for a minute."_

"_Look, I may be big but I'm not a miracle worker," replied the hesitant toad._

"_I need enough chakra to take the Kyuubi and that blast out of here," replied Minato, referring to the huge dense ball the Kyuubi was forming. If it hit what was left of Konoha there would be nothing left, everything and everyone would be destroyed._

_Sarutobi braced himself for another attack from the Kyuubi when suddenly the giant demon, along with Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow._

"_Minato…..he teleported himself and the nine tails out of here," said Sarutobi, a sad look lining is withered face. He knew he was going to lose his friend, Minato had told him about his backup plan if the Kyuubi had broken free while Mikoto gave birth._

_Minato re appeared along with the Kyuubi in the clearing where Mikoto and Fugaku lay, chibi Naruto still tucked safely in his arms. The forth panted heavily, his chakra was near exhausted completely from teleporting the Kyuubi, but he had saved Konoha._

"…_..Gotta put up a barrier," panted Minato as he weakly scrambled to his shaking, tired legs. Every inch of his body screamed with exhaustion but he could not collapse now, his village still was not safe. He would not give up; he was the Yondaime Hokage for a reason._

_Mikoto, ignored the cries of Fugaku and stood up, making her way towards the Kyuubi, she used the last of her unique chakra to form chains which wrapped themselves around the kitsune, binding it to the ground, giving Minato just enough time to form the barrier which trapped the Kyuubi in place. But he didn't have enough time. Just before the barrier was put in place, one of the Kyuubi's gigantic claws pierced the blonde Hokage._

_Minato felt himself falling as the Kyuubi released him as it was paralyzed due to the barrier. He could hear the anguished screams of Fugaku and Mikoto and his vision began to blur. _

'_It cannot end here!' he thought and as his body hit the ground Minato's eyes flew open. He forced his body the stand and he dragged himself over to where Naruto lay. He quickly formed a few hand signs while shouting,_

"_Shiki Fujin no Jutsu!" and immediately the Shinigami appeared sealing away the demon's soul, and slowly began to pull out Minato's. The Namikaze knew he had little time left and quickly formed the hand seals for the eight trigrams seal to seal the rest of the Kyuubi inside of Naruto. As he finished the task he felt the rest of his soul exit his body and he became limp his vision blurring, darkness over taking him._

"_E-everyone is safe now, gomen nasai Fugaku, Mikoto…" whispered Minato as his eyes closed and his life faded forever, the last sounds he heard where the shouts of Fugaku, Sandaime and Mikoto._

* * *

_4 years later_

_Mikoto smiled softly as she finished brushing a four year old Naruto's spiky black hair. She gently straitened his black formal Kimono adorned with the Uchiha fan on the back and kissed him on top of his head._

"_We're done, Naru-chan" she said and finally released the struggling boy. Mikoto loved her sons dearly and strived so no harm came to them. The twins had already developed a bond, a strange one. They were best friends but still rivals, yet neither could do without the other. Fugaku had been very pleased with them as they had begun to show signs of being even greater than Itachi._

"_Kaasan don't call me Naru-chan!" whined the blue eyed Uchiha, his smooth baby skin wrinkling at the forehead to form a frown." Mikoto couldn't help but laugh at her son's expression and ruffled his hair, furthering his childish displeasure. Meanwhile Sasuke began to get jealous because of the attention Naruto was getting and sat on his Kaasan's lap, tugging at her Kimono._

"_Kaasan, Kaasan will you brush my hair too?" Mikoto smiled down lovingly at Sasuke. She had not meant to leave him out._

"_Gomen Sasu-chan, Kaasan will brush your hair too." The blue eyed Uchiha woman picked up the brush and began to gently comb through Sasuke's hair. She tried her best to mask her sadness, but it still showed. She hadn't told her sons why they were getting dressed up. It was for their safety._

* * *

_Sarutobi, who had been reinstated after Minato died; informed Fugaku and Mikoto that the elders of the Uchiha clan and the council had been plotting to use Naruto to their advantage. Fugaku knew nothing of this and was enraged when he heard. Sarutobi told them that he would have to remove Naruto from the Uchiha clan and let him live alone, as they couldn't risk the chance of the clan controlling him. At this Mikoto had screamed, begged, pleaded and cried for the Sandaime to change his mind, but his decision was set. She just couldn't bear to know she wouldn't ever see one of her sons again._

_From that day on Fugaku had changed. He became cold and stoic towards everyone, including his family and pressured Itachi more than ever. Fugaku knew that the Sandaime didn't trust him as he thought he was in on the plan to use Naruto and that was his main reason for taking the Uchiha's son away. Fugaku had tried to prove his innocence but the Sandaime was still suspicious and it caused the Uchiha leader to become angry and cold. After all he had done to right the Uchiha clan and make amends with the Hyuuga clan, the Hokage still did not trust him. Fugaku first begun to harbor hate towards the elderly Hokage when he discovered that ANBU were watching him on the Hokage's orders, he couldn't forgive the old man for taking his son away, he just couldn't._

_Even Naruto and Sasuke had sensed something was wrong. The twins had begun to have nightmares, usually about the same thing. What they didn't know was that the Kyuubi had begun to claw at the sadness in their hearts, trying to devour them. Even though it was Naruto who harbored the Kyuubi Sasuke also had leftovers of the demon's chakra sealed into him and it created a link between the two. They had always been able to know what the other was feeling, sometimes they could even read each other's thoughts and their dreams were always linked._

_Mikoto looked up when a knock sounded on the door of the twin's bedroom and Itachi walked in. He quickly informed her that the Uchiha elders had called a meeting and she was needed._

"_Naru-chan, Sasu-chan, wait here for Kaasan ok? I'll be right back." Mikoto said to her sons, her eyes glinting with tears as she released Sasuke and walked towards the door._

"_Kaasan, where are you going?" asked a worried Naruto, his soft babyish voice lined with concern._

"_Shinpai shinaide, Kaasan will be right back."_

"_Ok." Said Naruto but the two year old still didn't sound convinced. After Mikoto and Itachi left the room Sasuke turned to Naruto._

"_Is Naru-nii daijoubou?" he asked, his high pitched childish voice saddening._

"_Hai, Naru-nii is daijoubou but Kaasan is not." The two year old wiped away the tears that had begun to fall, while looking down at the ground. He didn't like when he made his futago worry. Suddenly Sasuke launched himself on Naruto, knocking his twin to the ground in a fierce hug._

"_Don't cry Naru-nii, or Sasu-nii will cry too." Naruto nodded into Sasuke's shoulder in reply. They hadn't told the Kaasan but they had already begun to feel the urges to kill each other. Once Sasuke had tried to kill Naruto but he couldn't and broke down. He thought Naruto would have hated him for trying to kill him but his twin brother was only sad and forgave him as he revealed that he felt the same way and from that time on they had pledged not to ever let it happen again. That night Mikoto had found them sleeping huddled together with tear marks on their faces, but she decided to let it go._

* * *

_ A few minutes later Mikoto returned with a stricken look on her young motherly face. The time had been changed for Naruto and Sasuke's sealing. The twins memory were to be sealed away and Naruto's appearances changed by powerful henge._

_When Mikoto saw the twins hugging, she smiled in spite of herself. She knew they hadn't been feeling themselves lately but hadn't said anything about it as she figured it was because of the curse. But she knew they wanted to be left alone and didn't pry. _

"_Naruto, Sasuke we have to go now, Tousan is waiting on us." said Mikoto gently. She took either boy by the hand and exited the room closing the door behind her. She hated herself for what was going to be done to her sons but she knew there was nothing she could do._

"_Where are we going Kaasan?" asked Sasuke as they walked down the street in the Uchiha district, "and who are those weird people with masks?" asked the young Uchiha, referring to the numerous ANBU which lined the district. _

"_Shinpai shinaide Sasu-chan," said Mikoto, ruffling Sasuke's hair, trying to erase his worries._

_A few minutes later they reached the Uchiha shrine and the twins were taken from their mother. Mikoto fought to be allowed to enter to be with her sons while the sealing process took place but her efforts were in vain._

"_Gomen nasai….Naruto, Sasuke," whispered Mikoto as the screams of her son's died away as the ANBU who were escorting them disappeared down the corridor._

_From that day on the Uchiha clan was never quite the same. Even though Sasuke's memories of Naruto had been erased he felt as though something in his life was missing and he became stoic and cold shouldered everyone. Fugaku pressured Sasuke to be more like Itachi and was constantly telling him he was too weak. This caused the boy to be jealous of Itachi. Itachi stopped speaking to his father completely and was thoroughly engrossed in his missions and life as a ninja. Only Mikoto could get through to him, she was the only person who hadn't really changed. She was the one who held the family together._

* * *

_Five Years Later_

Mikoto still hadn't got over the loss of her son. She saw him sometimes, walking through the streets in either dirty ragged clothing or a horrendous orange jumpsuit. She hated it when the villagers abused him for being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Something he did not even know about, something he couldn't help. She knew she was forbidden to communicate with him but sometimes she snuck out of the Uchiha district and stocked his empty fridge with food. She wished she could help more, but that was all she could do without being caught.

On the first day of the academy when she had taken Sasuke she could see that Naruto and her son still had the bond from the curse even if they didn't remember each other. Once they saw each other it was an instant rivalry. But of late Sasuke had been having terrible night mares, e wouldn't admit this to her but she knew. She figured it was probably the Kyuubi trying to get a connection with him from Naruto's mind.

* * *

Naruto walked towards an abandon training ground as he recalled the day's events. Today had been even worse than usual. The teachers were even harsher and the students made fun of him. He was tired of having to act like a dobe with a happy go lucky personality in front of everyone.

Years ago after a particularly harsh attack from a group of villagers he decided to train himself. And he did so by stealing scrolls from the library and asking Sarutobi for tips. But he had decided to hide his true strength because of the villagers. He was about as strong as Sasuke or maybe even a bit stronger.

The blonde haired nin took off his jacket and threw it a side as he began to do various katas. As he practiced his taijutsu Naruto recalled what he had over heard some rookies saying that everyone in the Uchiha clan had been killed by Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose family as he never had any, or so he thought. But he had experienced an odd feeling when he heard that the Uchiha clan had been massacred. He didn't know why, but it almost felt as though he belonged with them. When practicing he even used the Uchiha style taijutsu as that was the style he felt most comfortable with. He found it strange but shook the 'impossible' thoughts out of his head. He didn't think it would be a problem if he practiced it in private but used another style in public.

Suddenly a searing pain cut through Naruto's head, causing a scream to erupt from his lips.

"N-Not now…." Naruto managed to whisper through his clenched teeth from his kneeling position on the ground. "Yameru, yameru!" he whispered, shaking his head trying to rid himself of the mental images. But they wouldn't go away. He could hair the distant roars and a faint voice which seemed to be calling for help, the same ones which haunted him in his dreams. Little did he know that a few miles away Sasuke Uchiha was going through something similar.

* * *

Plz review! i'm back with a fresh inspiration i hope u enjoy it! i worked hard on this chap so i hope i get some feedback! plz! :)

n.b i'm sorry but there will be NO YAOI in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sasuke buried his head in the pillow to bite back a scream as a fresh wave of pain encased him. Lately his night mares and hallucinations had been worse; he always seemed to hear someone screaming for help and the roars of something demonic. And the odd thing was that it worsened when he was near the dobe.

"Kuso," cursed Sasuke, clenching his fists. Of late everything seemed to be going wrong. He wouldn't admit it but he hated being alone. He hated coming home to an empty house with blood stains everywhere; it reminded him of something he'd tried hard to forget, the massacre of his clan. He detested the pitiful stares of the villagers and their whispers of his harsh fate.

He didn't want their pity, he didn't need it, and he refused to give in to it. He was an avenger and the path he walked was solitary.

The Uchiha survivor forced himself to stand up and pushed the pain in his head aside, stumbling to the bathroom, where he washed his face to clear his thoughts. Then ambling outside, he let the cool evening air envelope him. The raven haired rookie made his way to the training grounds situated in the Uchiha district and began to practice his Taijutsu and Katon jutsus. Hoping the training would set his mind at ease.

_The Next Day_

Iruka watched as the blonde haired, orange clad boy made his way to his seat, his head held low. The academy teacher knew something was seriously wrong as Naruto always held his head with confidence, even if he was having a bad day. It was getting close to the genin exams, and he desperately wanted Naruto to pass, and prove everyone wrong.

Naruto slumped in his seat, his head resting on the cool surface of the desk in front of him. His head was pounding horribly and he hadn't been able to sleep all night due to the nightmares. He knew he should probably report it to the Sandaime but he just couldn't bring himself to. Suddenly Naruto heard a desperate scream come from Sasuke's direction and he wiped around his head to investigate the noise. But when he did so he realized it was just a hallucination, or so he thought. The Uchiha looked as impassive as ever but little did Naruto know that he was going through the same thing.

The blonde haired boy bit his lip to bite back a scream, but couldn't hold out anymore. The sounds of Ino and Sakura arguing over Sasuke, Iruka shouting and the rest of students being rowdy suddenly become overwhelming and the classroom felt hot, he could feel the sweat running down his face. Naruto got to his feet and made his way into the aisle, staggering to the door where he collapsed.

"Naruto, Naruto!" shouted Iruka, rushing over to the unconscious boy. The whole class had become deadly silent as they looked on. It seemed strange to them that Naruto collapsed as he always seemed so full of energy and life. But what they saw before them was a tired, lonely, broken boy. Iruka quickly rushed Naruto to the Konoha hospital, sending an ANBU to inform the Hokage.

* * *

Naruto tried to move but his body was frozen, his throat felt tight and dry and there was a never ending darkness around him. He could hear a faint sound in the distance but couldn't quite make out what it was…it seemed to be someone calling his name.

"Where am I?" he tried to say but he couldn't hear his own voice. Naruto struggled to leave the painful darkness and overwhelming silence but he just couldn't. He began to panic.

Mean while the nurses bustled around Naruto while a grave looking Sarutobi looked on.

"The patient is going into a state of panic, this is bad!" yelled one of the medics "If he falls into this state while unconscious his body will shut down!" But there was nothing they could do but wait. Iruka, who had assigned another teacher to the class for the rest of the day, clenched his fists. He could see Naruto's eyes fluttering under his lids, trying in vain to open. The boy's chest heaved as he fought his way to consciousness, his body thrashing in the bed and sweat ran down his face. For a split second it seemed as though all hope was lost. Naruto stopped moving and his body became rigid, his breath limited. Then, in one miraculous second his blue eyes opened and he began to gasp for breathe.

The medics rushed to put an oxygen mask of Naruto's face to help with his breathing, while Iruka and Sarutobi sighed in relief.

The Sandaime crossed the room and sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, taking a long draw of his pipe before letting out the contents in one large sigh, his aged face looking even older as the day's events rested heavily on his shoulders.

"Naruto-Kun there is something you need to know….." trailed the aged Hokage, his brown eyes sad and worn.

"Iie, no," said Naruto stoically, his usual happy go lucky mask had crumbled. "I don't want to talk about this." The Sandaime felt his heart sink even further when he heard Naruto say those words. He knew it was the Kyuubi that had caused Naruto to go unconscious. But obviously the boy was not ready to know. The Sandaime knew there was nothing he could do but wait, but deep down in his heart even though he knew the real Naruto would awaken eventually, he didn't want to expose the boy to the darkness of his true heritage and the curse of his kind.

* * *

The months flew past in a flash and Naruto buried all thoughts of his nightmares and focused solely on his training. He had discovered he possessed both the wind and fire element and had begun to train himself in that area. He still had nightmares and terrible insomnia but he hid it beneath his mask, he knew it wouldn't be long until he could show his true self. He didn't know right he was, in more ways than one.

_Day of the Genin Exams_

Naruto felt a satisfied smirk settle on his face as he walked into the classroom at the academy with his Hitai- ate tied around his forehead. He had passed with flying colours.

Everyone stared, their mouths hanging open with shock. Uzumaki Naruto, the dobe had passed?

Uchiha Sasuke felt his pupils contract with surprise, the dobe had passed!

'Hn, maybe he is worth of my rivalry after all,' thought the rookie. As Sasuke passed Naruto on his way into the next room where the exam was being held he smirked and nodded slightly, the latter doing the same.

In a few minutes Sasuke returned, his hitai-ate tied proudly around his forehead. He was an Uchiha after all.

* * *

Later that evening Naruto walked along the streets of Konoha, ignoring the dirty looks and the mean whispers that the villagers gave him when they saw the Hitai-ate around his forehead. He knew they hated the fact that he had passed, but he didn't care anymore.

Meanwhile Mizuki, who had discreetly followed Naruto from the academy, clenched his fists. He was fuming. He couldn't believe the demon brat had passed and ruined his plan to get rid of him.

'Hn,' thought Mizuki 'I'll get rid of you, demon.' With that thought in mind he plastered a fake smile on to his lips and walked casually through the street until he caught up with Naruto.

"Ne…..Naruto, I have a special task for you, it's another part of the Genin exams. A part which only an academy teacher can bestow on one chosen student," said Mizuki to the orange clad genin, the smile widening but never matching the evil glint in his eyes.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, he did not trust Mizuki as the teacher had never done anything but treat him unkindly or neglect him. Suddenly a sinister smile appeared on Naruto's face, changing his fake countenance.

'Hn, I'll play along with his little game to see what he's up to,' thought Naruto, he could feel his thirst for blood rising, he knew he was changing and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Ne, ne, what is the task Mizuki-sensei?" asked Naruto innocently, jumping up and down with perfectly feigned excitement.

Mizuki narrowed his eyes as his smiled widened,

'What a baka, he'll never know what hit him. I'll have him steal the Forbidden Scroll and then alert the Hokage, who will immediately send shinobi after him. I'll take the scroll and escape while the demon brat gets caught.' The silver haired Chuunin smiled eerily and said,

"All you have to do is get the Forbidden Scroll and bring it to me; I'll be waiting in the forest. The scroll is in the Hokage's house."

"That's all?" shouted Naruto excitedly while flashing his signature grin. "I'm on it Mizuki-sensei, dattebayo!" and with that he ran off.

'Hn, the Forbidden Scroll eh?' thought Naruto as he raced over the roof tops 'Mizuki must really think I am an idiot. Hn, he won't know what hit him when I reveal my true strength.' Naruto felt his lips turn up in a humorless smile, dripping with the thirst for blood, his eyes flashing red for a moment. Every time he felt it he was disgusted, but he couldn't help it. Lately his thirst for blood had increased, maybe he was a monster like everyone said...maybe they were right.

A few minutes later Naruto arrived in the forest, the Forbidden Scroll on his back. Meanwhile Sarutobi sat at his desk, watching Naruto through his crystal ball. He was curious to see what the Genin was up to. Suddenly two Chuunin burst into the Hokage's office,

"Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama!" they shouted in unison, "the demon brat has stolen the Forbidden Scroll!" Sarutobi clasped his hand and rested his chin atop them. For a few minutes he said nothing, but gazed into the crystal ball.

"Hokage-sama—"the Chuunin started but was cut off when the elderly leader began to speak.

"Send any free Chuunin and Jounin after him," said the grave Hokage. The two chuunin smiled sadistically; finally they would be able to get rid of the demon brat.

* * *

Naruto stood in the forest the scroll on his back, waiting patiently for Mizuki to appear. Surprisingly he didn't even feel the urge to look at the scroll, he wasn't curious, not at all. As Naruto stood waiting on Mizuki he heard a voice behind him.

"I've found you Naruto!" it was Iruka. "Why did you do it, why did you steal the scroll?"

Naruto turned to look at his sensei. He could see the disappointment, disapproval, sadness and anger in Iruka's eyes.

"Hn, you really believed that I stole the scroll without a good reason?" said Naruto, narrowing his blue eyes, a dark aura emanating from him. "Then you're just like the rest of the villagers!" the blonde haired Genin growled, his mask falling apart, revealing his true countenance.

"N-Naruto…" stuttered Iruka, shock settling onto his features. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. What happened?" asked the academy teacher. The blonde rookie turned his back on Iruka, and for a moment the Chuunin thought Naruto was not going to answer. Then, the orange-clad Genin began to speak.

"After graduating, Mizuki came to me and said that he would allow me to participate in a special part of the Genin exams which only one teacher could bestow on a chosen student. I knew he was up to something, but decided to play along so that he would fall into my trap. He told me to fetch the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage Tower, and meet him in the forest." Iruka's eyes widened as Naruto explained the situation. He couldn't believe Mizuki would do something like this. He had always known that the snowy-haired teacher hated Naruto, but he never thought that he would sink this low. The young Chuunin was also quite surprised at Naruto's change in personality; he never would have thought that the happy face Naruto showed each day in class was simply an elaborate façade.

'Was he like this all along? Is this the real Naruto?' thought Iruka, a sad expression gracing his face.

A few seconds later Mizuki appeared. The Chuunin faced Naruto, his hand outstretched, a sickly sweet smile twisting his pale face.

"Hand over the scroll, Naruto-kun," said Mizuki, his voice dripping with fake sweetness.

"Hn, Mizuki-teme did u really think you deceived me with your lies?" asked Naruto scornfully, a humorless smile twisting his lips. "You must really underestimate me. I knew you were lying from the start, but I played along as I wanted to know what you were really up to." At this Mizuki's eyes widened. The demon brat had tricked him! He had known about his plan from the beginning!

Suddenly a grotesque leer formed on Mizuki's face as he spoke.

"You would have been better off not knowing about my plan, demon brat," he spat "not hand over the Forbidden Scroll and I might consider making you death painless." Naruto narrowed his eyes; he could barely see straight as his blood lust had begun to overpower him. He wanted to kill Mizuki; tear out his throat with his teeth, rip out his heart and watch the blood drain from his lifeless, limp body with a sense of sadistic pleasure.

"Mizuki don't do it!" yelled Iruka, interrupting the blonde's bloody thoughts.

"Huh?" sneered Mizuki "why are you defending the demon who killed you parents Iruka, don't you want revenge?" asked the silver haired Chuunin tauntingly; his black eyes gleaming with evil intentions. Upon hearing Mizuki's question, Naruto's eyes widened with shock.

"Iruka-sensei, did I really kill your parents?" asked Naruto, his exotic blue eyes filled with confusion.

Iruka looked down at his clenched fists, he hated to lie to Naruto, but he couldn't tell him the truth without revealing his secret.

"Iie, no, it's nothing Naruto-kun," replied Iruka, trying as best as he could to flash his signature smile at the blonde. As the words let Iruka's lips a humorless bout of laughter erupted from Mizuki.

"Do you really believe that, Naruto-kun?" asked Mizuki mockingly, his eyes wild with untamed glee. "Iruka is lying, he hates you like everyone else does and you ARE the demon that killed his parents. YOU are the child that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sealed into, YOU are the demon that destroyed the village!" roared Mizuki, his eyes staring wildly as he unleashed the Fuma Shuriken from his back and flung it at Naruto, with speed befitting a Jounin.

"No, Mizuki don't!" yelled Iruka, but it was too late, the academy teacher had already spilled Naruto's secret.

To Naruto time had stopped. He couldn't feel his heart beat, he felt numb. He didn't even see when Iruka jumped in front of him to intercept the incoming Fuma Shuriken. His world had come to a halt.

'I-I am the Kyuubi,' Naruto thought, his shocked brain trying hard to process the information. Then everything fell into place. The villagers abuse, their insults, his neglect at the academy.

"N-Naruto," Iruka managed to say, his brown eyes filled with sadness and pain. The blonde haired genin held his head down, his eyes shadowed by his hair and his fists clenched tightly. Suddenly a humorless bout of laughter escaped from Naruto's throat.

"The Kyuubi, huh?" asked Naruto somewhat mockingly, his blue eyes with blood lust and were coloured a blood red adorned with black slit pupils. "Maybe you're right Mizuki, maybe I am a demon, maybe that's why I want to kill you so fucking bad!" said Naruto, licking his lips grotesquely, while red potent chakra swirled around him. The blonde turned to look at Iruka, a a glimpse of sadness shinning through the anger and darkness in his eyes.

"So you're just like the rest of them, huh?" asked Naruto, his fists clenched with pent up emotions. "But Mizuki is right, I am a monster."

Iruka felt tears form in his eyes. He hadn't expected Naruto to take the truth so hard, it made him wonder, just how much hurt and pain the blonde was hiding. Just how many times had he been abused by the villagers?

Suddenly Naruto felt a searing pain engulf his head; he immediately dropped to his knees, holding his head between his hands.

'Yes,' said the Kyuubi in Naruto's mind, its muzzle stretching into a blood thirsty demonic grin,

'give your soul to me Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto tried to block out the demonic roars in his head, but his efforts were in vain. The overwhelming darkness and doubt in his heart gave the Kyuubi something to feed on and because of this his consciousness was overthrown by the demon.

Iruka watched in horror as Naruto stopped screaming and got to his feet. A dark aura surrounded the boy and the potent chakra swirling around him thickened. His nails lengthened as did his canines, giving him a savage demonic look. But what unnerved Iruka the most was Naruto's eyes, they were blood red with slit pupils and stared wildly around the forest, dark emotions and emptiness swirling within them. They were the eyes of a fallen angel, a demon. Mizuki backed away hurriedly as Naruto drew near.

"Mizuki!" he hissed, his red eyes narrowing "I'll kill you!" he roared, swiping at Mizuki with his clawed hands. The chuunin went reeling back when Naruto's elongated nails and a powerful blast of demonic chakra hit him. The blonde walked over to where Mizuki laid, his hair shadowing his eyes, creating a dramatic effect. He gripped one of Mizuki's arms, and then mercilessly ripped it from its socket, enjoying the screams that echoed from chuunin at his feet.

Iruka forced himself to stand. He felt sick in the stomach, he hated to see Naruto like this, it was wrong.

"Naruto stop!" he yelled "don't let what Mizuki said get to you. You are not the Kyuubi, you are not a monster…but if you continue like this you will be. Despite the fact that you hold the Kyuubi inside of you there are people who care deeply for you; like me, the Sandaime, Teuchi and Ayame. It may not be much, but sometimes the best things come in small packages. So get a grip on yourself Naruto or you will end up hurting those who love you." For a moment it seemed as though Naruto had not heard Iruka at all; then he swung to face the academy teacher, his hollow eyes boring into Iruka's soul.

"I-Iruka sensei," whispered Naruto, his red eyes slowly fading back to their normal blue colour and his nails and teeth shortened and the dark chakra dissipated. Tears pooled in Iruka's eyes as he watched the blonde Genin struggle with his emotions.

Naruto grit his teeth and forced himself to look at Mizuki. The stench of blood made his stomach turn and the site of Mizuki's arm lying a few inches away from his body, twisted into a deformed shape and burnt to a crisp from the Kyuubi's chakra made him sick.

"I did this," thought Naruto in shock "only a monster would have done this, I am a monster after all." These thoughts continued to haunt him then he remembered Iruka's words.

'That's right,' he thought 'It wasn't me, it was the Kyuubi. I am not a monster but merely its container.' With these thoughts Naruto's determination hardened and he raised his head, his blue eyes sparkling with resolve.

'I'll kill you with my power Mizuki,' though Naruto as he formed the hand seal for the Shadow Clone Technique.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu," said Naruto and on cue six shadow clones appeared. Mizuki's eyes widened in horror as Naruto formed familiar hand signs. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" yelled Naruto and his clones in sync; Naruto closed his eyes as the fire balls sped towards Mizuki. He was about to test out his new jutsu.

'Time to end this," thought Naruto and formed a ram seal. Immediately the fire balls merged, creating a large fire dragon.

"Katon: Hi no Ryuu," said Naruto as the dragon devoured Mizuki, drowning out his screams of agony. The blonde rookie smiled. He felt quite proud of his technique. By channeling chakra into the fire balls made by clones, along with a ram sign he could form a powerful fire dragon. It was an original technique.

Iruka's mouth hug hung open in shock.

'When did Naruto get so strong?' he wondered. But his thoughts were cut short when naruto collapsed on the ground. He immediately rushed over, shaking the blonde.

"Naruto are you alright?" he yelled, his voice rising in panic. The blonde rookie forced his heavy lids open and managed to whisper,

"Arigatou Iruka sensei…." Before falling back into the dark abyss of unconsciousness; meanwhile, Sarutobi who had been watching the entire fight through his crystal ball ordered an ANBU to tell the shinobi he had sent after Naruto to retreat.

"Naruto…you have grown," said the old Hokage as he looked out the window at the faces of the Hokages which had been carved into the mountain. He let a tired sigh leave his lips. The real Naruto's birth was getting closer; it wouldn't be much longer until his true heritage was revealed.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling of the hospital, trying to recall the previous day's events. Iruka had convinced the Hokage of Naruto's innocence, and the elderly leader, after hearing the whole story was quite impressed. He was a bit worried about how the Kyuubi was affecting Naruto, but there was nothing he could do about it; for it wasn't the seal that had weakened but Naruto's mind.

The blonde rookie forced himself up out of the bed and quickly showered and dressed. He was already late for the meeting with his new team.

A few minutes later he was racing over the roof tops and soon reached the training field where he and his new team were supposed to meet. Both Sasuke and Sakura turned to look as Naruto skidded to a halt beside them. His breath fast and heavy,

"Am I late?" the blonde Genin questioned.

"No, Kakashi isn't even here yet," replied Sasuke curtly, blatantly disrespecting their new sensei. Naruto just raised his eyebrows and turned his back and Sakura and Sasuke. At this Sakura was shocked, usually Naruto would have already begun to pester her for a date. She pursed her glossy lips, folded her arms and said,

"What are you doing here freak? Isn't it obvious that you don't belong on this team? You are way below me and Sasuke-kun's standard, you are not worthy to be in our presence." Naruto clenched his fists and grit his teeth. Even though his back was to her he could feel Sakura's self satisfied smirk. He was sick and tired of people putting him down, especially people who were spoilt and did nothing but fan girl over Sasuke.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak when suddenly the temperature dropped and air around her felt heavy and suffocating. She could feel herself trembling with fear. She forced herself to look up and saw Naruto, who still had his back to her, with his fists clenched and his head held low while a strange red chakra swirled around him.

'What is going on?' thought Sakura, panic clouding her mind. Meanwhile Sasuke forced himself to block out the screams of anguish in his head. They had gotten stronger ever since the strange chakra enveloped Naruto.

'Who are you dobe?' thought Sasuke, he really needed some answers and quick. Sakura felt a bone chilling wave of fear run up her spine as Naruto turned to face her, his red eyes staring wildly, their slit pupils boring into her soul and thriving off of her fear. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, his killer intent rising when Kakashi appeared between him and Sakura in a swirl of leaves.

"Maa, maa," he said his one visible eye crinkling into a U shape "calm down you two." His words seemed to do the trick because the chakra disappeared from around Naruto and his eyes returned to their regular blue. But Sakura couldn't stop staring at him. She had never witnessed something so evil in her entire life.

'Just who are you?' she thought, wanting answers as much as Sasuke did.

Kakashi observed his students. He felt immensely satisfied that he had got the Uchiha, the prized student all the instructors had wanted. The Jounin's grey eyes rested on Sakura. He hated the fangirl types but he could whip her into shape. It wouldn't be easy but he could do it. His eyes then flickered to Naruto and underneath his mask a sneer curled his lips and hatred burned in his eyes. The Kyuubi gaki, he hated him but would try his best not to let his hate get in the way. But unbeknownst to him hate had long since blinded his eyes.

Naruto clenched his fists in anger. He had seen how his sensei looked at him. It was a look filled with hatred and scorn, a look that almost everyone bestowed upon him.

'He's just like the rest of them,' thought Naruto angrily, pushing away the hurt and loneliness that ached his heart.

"Well, introduce yourselves," said Kakashi breaking the silence that had overcome the small group. "You know, like your name, hobbies, likes and dislikes and goals or dreams."

"Why don't you go first sensei," suggested Sakura.

"Very well," replied Kakashi. "My name is Hatake Kakashi but you must call me Kakashi-sensei, my likes and dislikes are…and my hobbies and goals are none of you business," finished the Jounin with a smile, causing all three students to sweat drop. He had only told them his name.

"Alright your next," he said pointing at Sasuke. The Uchiha scowled at him and said,

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke; I don't like many things and dislike practically everything. My hobbies are training and my goal is to kill a certain man," he finished, his dark eyes burning with hatred. Sakura squealed with delight and ooohed and aaahed as though Sasuke had given the world's greatest speech. Kakashi just raised his eyebrows. He has expected the Uchiha to say something like that. The Jounin nodded at Sakura and the pinkette took it as her cue to speak.

"My name is Haruno Sakura," she said "my likes are helping out at the Yamanka's flower shop and…." She trailed giggling as she looked coyly over at Sasuke. "My hobbies are…" she said, giggling and glancing at Sasuke once again. Her goals and likes and dislikes followed in the same footsteps.

"Ok…" said Kakashi feeling exasperated. She was even worse than he thought. "Your turn," he said inclining his head towards Naruto. Everyone waited to hear the blonde start ranting about being Hokage as he always did but to their surprise he was strangely quiet, then after a while he began to speak. His tone was clam and not filled with excitement as it usually was.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto; my hobbies are training and gardening. I do not many likes or dislikes and my goal is to become the strongest shinobi ever, no matter what it takes." The silence was deafening as the blonde ended his speech, he had took them all by surprise. He had mentioned nothing of Ramen or being Hokage.

'Well that was surprising," thought Kakashi and wondered just how much the blonde rookie was hiding. The silver haired Jounin then reached into his pocket and pulled out two bells. Kakashi held up the bells and the sunlight glinted off them.

"You have an hour to get these two bells from me, if you don't succeed before the hour is up you fail and one of you will be sent back to the academy." The last few words echoed in Naruto's mind.

'Failure is not an option,' thought Naruto determinedly 'I cannot be sent back to the academy. I will not be. But his challenge is more than it seems because a team has to be made up of three or more people so they wouldn't send only one of us back to the academy." The blonde continued to think for awhile then it hit him. 'The aim of this test must be teamwork! With teamwork we would be able to get the bells and none of us would go back to the academy. I'll take on Kakashi first to evaluate his skills and then tell the others about the true incentive of this test.'

Kakashi watched Naruto; he could see the mysterious Genin was thinking hard.

'He must had figured out the test,' though Kakashi but quickly corrected himself. 'No, that is impossible, a dobe like him could never figure out something like that. He was worse in the academy; there is no way he could figure it out.'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, there was no way he was going back to the academy, if anyone should go back it would be the dobe or Sakura.

'Hn, I'll show Kakashi the true power of an Uchiha,' thought Sasuke arrogantly, not bothering to thoroughly think through the test. As Kakashi shifted, holding up three fingers the Genin's tensed.

"After three," said the Jounin, his mind and body in full battle mode. "I won't go easy on you," he said his one visible eye sending shivers down the spine of his students. "San, ni, ichi…" counted Kakashi, pausing dramatically before adding "Hajime!" at these words everyone except Naruto disappeared, hiding somewhere around the training field, Kakashi and Sasuke masked the chakra signature so they wouldn't be found while Sakura hid only her body.

Kakashi watched Naruto from his hiding place. The blonde hasn't even bothered to hide, he just stood in the clearing as still as a statue.

'He really is a dobe,' thought Kakashi, feeling somewhat bewildered. But the Jounin kept his eyes on Naruto, he was curious to see what the boy would do next. His other two students had hidden well, at least Sasuke had. Sakura wasn't very skillful at hiding her chakra signature and thrashed about, trying to find Sasuke.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on the powerful chakra within; he knew he had a massive amount, even without the Kyuubi. As the blonde concentrated, his chakra began to leak out of his body and surround him. Kakashi's eyes widened with shock,

'Is that the Kyuubi's chakra?' thought the Jounin but was quickly corrected when he saw the colour of the chakra and felt its aura. It was powerful but lacked the underlying tones of darkness. As the chakra swirled around Naruto a powerful breeze picked up. From his hiding place Sasuke watched, filled with shock. When had the dobe got this much chakra? And how was it so powerful? Naruto smiled as he detected Kakashi's chakra.

'Found ya!' thought the blonde gleefully, turning to face Kakashi's hiding place, his blue eyes staring intensely at the place where the Jounin stood. The Jounin had hid his chakra signature well but with the technique he had invented called Buraindo Fainda, which was able to uncover people's chakra signature by invading the essence of any human in a ten mile range of him, he had easily found his sensei.

Kakashi froze in shock. He had felt something cold wash over him, as if something had possessed him, then when he saw the blonde staring directly at him he knew, he had been found.

'This dobe is a lot stronger than I thought; maybe he does have some skills…' Kakashi trailed, and then slowly made his way out of his hiding place and into the clearing where Naruto stood. The blonde rookie smirked smugly at the Jounin as he entered the clearing.

"Surprised, huh?" said Naruto, his lips turning up into a sneer. Another wave of shock hit Kakashi.

'Who is this boy?' he thought 'where has the happy-go-lucky attitude gone?' But before he could delve deeper into his thoughts Naruto attacked with a mass of graceful but deadly Taijutsu moves. His speed was good and his fluidity superb, but Kakashi could see he was holding back. It was almost as if the style he used was forced.

'Kuso!' cursed Naruto mentally as he dodged a kick from Kakashi. 'he can see that this is not my natural style of Taijutsu,' he thought 'but I cannot use the Uchiha style in public…' As Kakashi continued to attack, Naruto back flipped, creating space between them and then began to form some hand seals.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he recognized the jutsu Naruto was about to perform.

'No!' he thought incredulously 'It cannot be…the only current rookie who can do that jutsu is Sasuke!' Naruto saw the shock in Kakashi's eyes and smiled in triumph.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as a large fire ball erupted from his mouth and enveloped the clearing. From his hiding place Sasuke watched in shock. Naruto had just used a jutsu that he had been learning for a while, that jutsu was well known among the Uchiha clan, it was the Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu. As the shock faded anger filled Sasuke,

'He copied me!' he thought angrily, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. 'How dare he copy me! An Uchiha at that! How dare he!' Sasuke screamed mentally, wanting to rip out Naruto's throat in anger. Naruto felt Sasuke's chakra spike and smiled smugly. The last Uchiha was angry.

'Hn, serves him right!' thought Naruto 'And if he thought I copied it he's dead wrong. I've known that jutsu long before him, but was forced not to use it.' The blonde was abruptly brought back to reality when he barely dodged a kick from Kakashi. Suddenly the blonde dropped a smoke bomb, surprising Kakashi. When the smoke cleared he was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto leaned against a tree, his breath coming in quick short bursts. While fighting Kakashi he had been thinking about the challenge the Jounin gave them. The real challenge was teamwork, he's already figured that out, but up until now he was not able to set his plan into motion.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto said softly and immediately two Shadow clones appeared. He nodded slightly at the clones and they immediately took off running to fulfill their mission.

Sasuke sensed the chakra from Naruto's clone behind him and spun around, words ready to berate the dobe on his lips when the clone put up its hand.

"I know you're angry Sasuke," said the clone "But there is no time to argue, there is a time limit on the challenge. I have figured out the true meaning of the test."

"Nani?" spat Sasuke angrily "there is no true meaning to the challenge, it's just as it is. Only two of us can become Genin, one will be sent back to the academy." The Uchiha paused, a sneer twisting his lips "and the one that'll be going back will definitely be you, I'll make sure of it!' he hissed. The brunette waited for Naruto to explode with anger like he usually did and then start yelling about becoming Hokage, but only silence met his ears. Then Naruto began to speak,

"Oh really?" he said scathingly "I wonder, how did you become rookie of the year if you can't look beneath the underneath, Uchiha," said the blonde with a sneer. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but Naruto cut him off. "Why do you think there are two bells and not three? Do you really think one of us will go back to academy? A team has to be made up of three people or more so there is no way only two of us will pass. Look deeper, there must be a reason why there is only two bells. That is because only two will be needed, we are to accomplish this as a team, and teamwork is the most important thing for a shinobi. If teamwork is not carried out the mission will fail." Sasuke gaped at Naruto in shock. He had never heard the blonde speak so intelligently and even though he hated to admit it Naruto was right.

"Hn, fine, what's the plan then dobe?" asked Sasuke, a smirk on his face.

After convincing Sasuke it was quite easy to do the same to Sakura as she readily did anything the Uchiha did. After quickly going over the plan the three rookies got to work.

* * *

Kakashi was brought abruptly back to reality when three shuriken whizzed towards him. The Jounin easily dodged it and was quite surprised to see Sakura standing a few metres away, a look of pure determination in her face.

'Surprising,' thought Kakashi, he hadn't expected the pink-haired fangirl to even try attacking him. The Jounin check the time on the stop watch in his pocket; only thirty minutes remained. As the silver hair Cyclops focused on Sakura he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" yelled Sasuke, but being the Jounin he was Kakshi easily dodged the fire ball. He drew a kunai and casually deflected the shuriken Sasuke had begun to throw at him.

'Why is his aim so bad?' thought Kakashi as two shuriken missed him by several inches. 'I thought he was skilled at weaponry, that's what his academy file said.' The Jounin continued to ponder the reason for the Uchiha's bad aim, and then reality hit him. 'Unless it's a trap, it couldn't—'his thoughts were cut off as Naruto suddenly appeared, jumping athletically over Sasuke, and while in mid air quickly formed hand seals with speed befitting a Chuunin.

"Futon: Kazekiri," the blonde said softly, landing lightly on the ground as the air around him turned into blades of wind all rushing towards his Jounin sensei. Meanwhile five of his clones had ambushed Kakashi from behind.

For a minute Kakashi was frozen with shock. They had used teamwork. First Sakura tried to distract him giving Sasuke allowance to attack him, who then made him off guard by aiming sloppily. While his mind was occupied Naruto jumped down from his hiding place while he had his clones ambush him from behind. The battle hardened Jounin was impressed, he was impressed for the first time in years.

As the wind blade enveloped Kakashi Naruto smirked, it was over, they had won. A little way off Kakashi leaned against a tree, panting slightly. He had used the replacement jutsu to escape the wind blades just in time.

'Time is up,' thought Kakashi, and then on a sudden impulse he looked down and realized that one of the bells was missing. For a split second he was confused then he realized. When Naruto has his clones attack him, the blonde had also had Sakura nab the bell.

'His improvising his very good,' thought Kakashi somewhat begrudgingly, the demon brat had proven him wrong, he had blown his mind away. The Jounin wondered once again, just how much was the Jinchuuriki hiding.

* * *

Kakashi walked out into the clearing, facing the three anxious rookies.

"You fail," he said sternly "you failed to get both bells on time, one of you will have to return to the academy."

'What?' thought Naruto, panic seeping into his mind. 'But we used teamwork!' Upon seeing the shocked look on his students faces Kakashi laughed.

"You figured it out, didn't you?" he asked "yes, the real incentive of the test was teamwork and you did just that so…" trailed the Jounin dramatically, his visible eye turning up in its familiar U shape, then he said "You pass!" Naruto felt a wave of relief overcome him. He was now an official Genin, his dream had just begun. The blonde felt Sasuke staring intensely at him; he could feel the Uchiha's anger. A smirk turned up the corners of Naruto's mouth and he turned slightly, meeting the Sasuke's eyes. No words were exchanged but they both knew. Their rivalry had gone to another level.

AN: sry about the long wait but my life is really busy right now!

pls forgive me ans R&R pls!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_One Month Later_

Team 7 had been sent on a mission in the Land of Waves to protect an old bridge builder called Tazuna. The old man seemed to be hiding something, but they knew not what until they were attacked by the Demon Brothers and Zabuza Momoichi. Kakashi and Zabuza then got into a fight, which Kakashi was losing until Naruto and Sasuke interfered and freed him from the nuke nin's clutches. But, before Kakashi could kill Zabuza he was 'killed' by a strange hunter nin. A few days later Kakashi realized that the hunter nin was fake, as hunter nins always dispose of the body on the spot, he then came to the conclusion that Zabuza was still alive. The Jounin immediately began training his students in case they encountered Zabuza again. Sakura and Sasuke were given the tree climbing exercise and Naruto, who, much to Sasuke's displeasure, had already learned it moved on to the water walking exercise. Then a few days later they were attacked by Zabuza and his apprentice while guarding Tazuna on the bridge he was building.

_Presently on the bridge_

Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes closed and he collapsed to the ground, senbon needles piercing every inch of his flesh and his last words ringed in Naruto's ears. For the blonde time seemed to have stopped and for a moment he couldn't breathe or move, he was frozen in shock and horror. Sasuke had jumped in front of him to intercept the oncoming barrage of senbon, it was a hard thought to process. The blonde slowly turned his head, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.

"S-Sasuke, wake up, it's not funny anymore, yameru, get up!" said Naruto, his own voice sounding strange, detached and distant in his ears. He shook his teammate, but still his eyes did not open and his body felt limp and cold. Naruto began to shake, and as his world began crumbling around him flashes of his life with Sasuke played before him like a strange horror movie. He had hated the Uchiha's obnoxious, arrogant and holier-than-thou attitude, but secretly he admired and envied the brunette. The Uchiha had what he always longed for, a family and all the villagers admired and looked up to him. In Naruto's eyes he had it easy. He had also been his rival, the one that kept him going when all seemed bleak and grey. When being abused by the villagers it was his rivalry with Sasuke that kept him going, kept him striving for something better. But now he was gone, the one person he could relate to, look up to, envy and love all in one was gone. Something seemed to break inside of Naruto and he yelled,

"SASUKE!" his head thrown back towards the heavens, his eyes staring wildly, a single tear leaking out of their blue depths.

A few meters away Haku watched in horror as the air thickened and Naruto raised his head from Sasuke's 'dead' body, revealing his eyes as potent red chakra wrapped itself around him. Even in death Haku would never forget those eyes, the haunted his soul, forever. Instead of the slit pupil eyes of the Kyuubi the legendary Sharingan stared back at him. They were eyes like Sasuke's, eyes of the accursed Uchiha clan. Two tomoe spun wildly in Naruto's left eye, contrasting against the red of his eye ball, while one adorned the right. The exact opposite of Sasuke's who'd reawakened his Sharingan during the fight with Haku.

But, it wasn't the Sharingan that disturbed Haku, but the look in Naruto's eyes. One eye held a feral, blood thirsty look and the other a sad, broken, faraway look from which a single tear descended, rolling down his cheek and dripping off the end of his chin. As the ominous chakra around Naruto got darker he put back his head and let out a ferocious roar. A roar befitting a demon, a monster, a roar filled with sadness, pain, loneliness and blood lust.

The blonde turned to look at Haku, his red eyes meeting black, his elongated canines bared as he growled,

"Kill, must kill…I'll kill you!"

* * *

Kakashi felt a chill go down his spine as some ominous chakra washed over him.

'Zabuza!' he immediately thought, but then as the chakra got stronger he recognized it. It was the same evil chakra from thirteen years ago that everyone feared. It was the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. 'This is bad!' thought Kakashi 'I have to finish this fight with Zabuza before Naruto fully transforms.'

Zabuza stiffened, he had also felt the heavy dark chakra coming from Naruto and it gave him chills. He was a cold heartless murderer and was nicknamed the Demon of The Mist, but the chakra he had felt was even more foul and dark than his own. It was the chakra of a true demon, a monster.

"Looks like your student is getting out of control, how about we finish this, Kakashi," said Zabuza, his voice echoing in the thick mist he'd casted.

"My sentiments exactly," agreed Kakashi and began to form some hand seals.

* * *

Haku barely had time to blink as Naruto sprang, moving with speed befitting a low Jounin. Haku was fast but Naruto was faster and he crashed through the mirror, his clawed hands wrapped tightly around Haku's throat. As Haku dangled from Naruto's hand he felt his life fading as the air was squeezed out of him. The ice user forced his eyes open and willed his self to meet Naruto's. As the blonde pulled back his hand to strike Haku saw something else in his eyes, something akin to sorrow and helplessness.

"Gomen nasai Zabuza-sama, I failed you," Haku whispered as Naruto plunged his hand through his chest, shattering his ribs and tearing his heart. The ice user's blood spilled over Naruto's hands and cascaded onto the ground. Like a ruthless killer Naruto shook Haku off his hand, a grotesque leer twisting his lips as he let out a humorless spine chilling laugh.

Kakashi struggled to his feet. He'd won his battle with Zabuza but when he heard the hair-raising sound Naruto had emitted he knew it wasn't over. The Jounin ignored the chakra exhaustion that threatened to do him in and got to his feet, making his way over to Naruto. The sight that met his eyes was one did not expect and one he'd never forget. Inside Haku's ring of ice mirror laid Sasuke, senbon needles piercing every inch of his flesh. A little ways off was Naruto and Haku. The effeminate nin lay in a large pool of his own blood over which Naruto stood, potent red chakra wrapped around him. As Kakashi drew near he sensed him and turned to face his sensei, his elongated canines bared in a feral growl. The Jounin felt a wave of shock encase him as Naruto turned to face him, revealing his eyes. Instead of the demonic pupils of the Kyuubi the Jounin was met by the eyes of the legendary Uchiha clan, the Sharingan.

'Nani?' thought Kakashi in shock 'Why does Naruto have the Sharingan? How did this happen?" Immediately the Jounin knew that the matter was out of his league and he bit his thumb, slamming it to the ground and immediately a small dog appeared in a poof of smoke.

"Pakkun,' said Kakashi authoritatively "tell the Hokage that Naruto has awakened the Sharingan, he'll know what to do." The dog's eyes widened a bit but he didn't even waste time to speak he just turned and headed in the direction of Konoha, running as fast as he could.

* * *

Sakura knelt on the cold hard ground beside Sasuke's limp body, tears cascading down her face and dripping onto Sasuke's. She could feel Tazuna's hand on her shoulder as he tried to comfort her, but it was no use, she was too distraught.

"Sasuke-kun, come back, please!" she whispered, her hands trembling as she stroked his spiky black hair. Suddenly a chuckle rang out from a few meters away from her; she turned to see Gato and his mercenaries standing at the far end of the bridge.

"Eh?" spat Gato as he observed the bloody scene before him. "Looks like those Konoha shinobi got rid of Zabuza and his pest, well they did me a favor; I was going to dispose of him anyway. Well finish off those Konoha dogs boys; teach them to mind their own business!" yelled Gato causing the rogues surrounding him to give a blood thirsty yell.

"Kuso!" thought Kakashi 'I don't have enough chakra left to fight Gato and his thugs. Gomen nasai, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," the Jounin thought as his vision blurred and he collapsed from chakra exhaustion. As Kakashi fell Gato laughed, a humorless evil sound. "Looks like the Kopī Ninja Kakashi isn't all that he's cracked up to be. Take out the pink haired gaki and the bridge builder!" commanded Gato and immediately the blood thirsty thugs rushed towards Sakura and Tazuna.

Sakura closed her eyes and hugged Sasuke's 'dead' body closer to her, tears leaking from beneath her eye lids.

"Gomen nasai, I'm still just a failure, Sasuke-kun," she whispered. Ever since she had found out that Sasuke had 'died' she realized just how useless she was to her team. She felt guilty and responsible for Sasuke's 'death'. She felt as though, if she was stronger she could have prevented him from dying. As the thugs neared she squeezed her eyes shut, accepting her fate, accepting her death. She waited for the pain to hit her but she felt nothing. The pinkette slowly opened her eyes to find Naruto standing in front of her, his back facing her. Blood gushed out of his body as the thugs hacked at him. He turned slightly so he could meet Sakura's eyes and she gasped in shock when she saw the Sharingan.

'Sharingan?" she thought in shock 'why does Naruto have the Sharingan, what is happening?" Fresh tears formed in her eyes as Naruto smiled sadly at her.

"Gomen nasai Sakura, I couldn't prove you wrong, I am a monster after all." With that the potent chakra surrounding him split into three tails and the skin on his hands began to peel off, revealing hot red chakra underneath. He let out a beastly roar of pain, anger, sadness and blood lust as his nails lengthened even more and he lunged at Gato's army, ripping their heads off with his bare hands and teeth. He continued to rip the thugs apart, ignoring the gouges their swords made on his body. As he killed the last thug he leapt at Gato, his lips pulled back in a feral snarl.

Gato felt his body freeze as Naruto drew closer and before everything went black the last thing he saw were Naruto's eyes. They were the eyes of a cold blooded murderer, demon and a monster. They were eyes that did not belong to a twelve year old Genin.

Sakura watched in horror as Naruto ripped off Gato's head and threw it and his body over the railing of the bridge and into the watery depths below; then he turned to face her, blood dripping from his clawed hands and staining his clothing. For a moment it seemed as though he was going to attack her, the potent chakra began to recede and he collapsed to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Naruto felt as though his entire body was on fire. He didn't know why, but after Sasuke had 'died' his vision had become clearer. He could clearly see Haku's movements and his speed had also increased. He knew he shouldn't have given into the Kyuubi but he had no other choice, he'd barely stopped himself from attacking Sakura.

From the corner of his lidded eyes he saw Inari and a group of villagers, all armed as they rushed towards the bridge.

'Hn,' thought Naruto 'you've grown Inari, you'll make a fine ninja someday.' As he closed his eyes he felt something cold and soft on his face.

"Yuuki?" he managed to whisper through the intense pain "You're crying, Haku, I'm sorry, please forgive me." He finished as he succumbed to the clutches of unconsciousness, the last thing he heard was the terrified screams of Sakura and Inari, screams calling out his name, begging him to come back. But he couldn't, his strength had left him.

* * *

_Mean while in Konoha_

The Sandaime's eyes widened when Pakkun finished delivering the message. He'd expected Naruto to awaken his Sharingan, but not so soon. He was expecting it to be around the time of the Chuunin Selection Exams. The elderly Hokage wasted no time and immediately summoned two ANBU to head to the Land of Waves to bring back Naruto and Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura watched as Naruto frowned in his state of unconsciousness, he seemed to be fighting something, some unseen force. She felt helpless and her heart overflowed with guilt. After Naruto has passed out on the bridge, the rest of the villagers, who has just arrived with Inari managed to carry him, Sasuke, who they had found out was not dead but unconscious, and Kakashi back to Tazuna's house. Kakashi had already come to, but both Naruto and Sasuke were still unconscious. But what confused Sakura the most was that the strange red chakra had returned and was now bubbling around both Naruto and Sasuke. They both seemed to be in immense pain and were constantly tossing and turning as if trying to fight some mental force. Her confusion was furthered when she noticed Naruto's features had begun to change. His skin was getting paler by the hour and his hair had begun to darken and lengthen. His whisker-like birth marks seemed to be fading and his features melting and changing, the more she looked at him was the less she recognized the blonde dobe who she thought she knew.

* * *

Naruto felt as though his entire being was on fire, every cell in his body screamed in pain. He felt numb and the screaming in his head would not go away. It got louder by the second. He tossed on the tatami mat on which he laid, the frown on his forehead deepening.

"Yameru," he whispered through his dry cracked lips. The darkness and pain seemed to be too much to bear then he remembered, everything came back to him, who he was, his past, his curse, everything. Now he could hear a voice calling out to him among the roars in his head. The voice was faint and faraway but familiar. He strained his ears and he heard it. The voice was Sasuke's, it was saying,

"Help me Naru-nii, help me…" He then realized that Sasuke's subconscious was the voice he heard in his dreams; the voice that has been calling out to him for so long and he hadn't heard it. Their link had been broken; it was just that he had forgotten, he'd forgotten about his Sasu-nii, why? He didn't know, he couldn't remember.

The hours seemed to fly by for Sakura. She drifted in and out of sleep and refused to eat or leave her teammate's side. She felt particularly responsible for their condition and to relieve her guilt she stayed by their side, doing anything she could to help them. After being so useless she felt it was the least she could do.

* * *

Sakura's eyes flickered open again; a day had passed since the fight with Zabuza. The pinkette gasped as she suddenly caught sight of her reflection in the mirror situated across from her. He long pink hair was matted to her skull, her complexion as pale and pasty and large black circles lined her eyes from lack of sleep. Her usually bright green eyes were now a murky shade with sadness and guilt. She tore her gaze away from the mirror and looked over at Naruto and Sasuke. She bit her lip to keep back a scream of terror that erupted in her throat at the site before her. Their skin seemed to be deteriorating and rotting, peeling away and flaking onto the ground to reveal some kind of blood red layer below. Their nails had lengthened and blood covered their bodies, staining the mat beneath them. Sakura reached for the damp rag beside her and crept gingerly to where Naruto and Sasuke lay. She stretched out her hand to begin mopping up the blood but the chakra surrounding them burned her and she pulled back her hand, letting out a blood curling scream. On cue Kakashi, Tazuna and his daughter came rushing into the room. The sight that met Kakashi's eyes was one that he would never forget. Hot red chakra flames burned on Sakura's right arm and she lay on the ground twisting and screaming in pain. The Jounin wasted no time and formed some hands seals before shouting,

"Suiton: Mizu Dangan!" A jet of water shot out from his mouth and doused Sakura's hand, immediately outing the flames. He hand was black and charred and hung limply at her side. The dead skin began to flake, falling to the floor. Sakura's eyes widened in horror but no sound escaped her lips. Kakashi rushed over to his student's side and began to bandage her arm. It had begun to bleed profusely, but that was a good sign. It showed that all the nerves and veins in her hand had not been fully damaged. The Jounin turned to look at where Naruto and Sasuke lay. Their bodies were surrounded in the evil red chakra and soaked in blood, but there was nothing he could do but watch his two students suffer, he was helpless. The silver haired Cyclopes turned his attention back to Sakura, and upon seeing the look on the young kunoichi's face his battle hardened heart melted. Sure, the shinobi world was tough, but the pinkette had gone through way more than the average Genin should have in the past week. Her bubblegum pink hair was matted and dirty and black circles enveloped her tired green eyes. She was weak from lack of sleep and food as she had refused to eat. Her right arm lay limply at her side, wrapped in white bandages, through which splotches of red had begun to show. On a sudden impulse Kakashi leaned forward and did something he's never done before. He enveloped the Kunoichi in his strong arms and cradled her against his chest where she burst into tears, letting the feelings which she's kept trapped inside for so long.

"Gomen nasai, Kakashi-sensei," she managed to whisper in between her sobs.

"Daijoubou," replied Kakashi, and for the first time the icy Jounin actually meant it.

Suddenly two ANBU burst into the room, ignoring Tazuna's indignant cries; Kakashi immediately recognized them as the ANBU the Hokage had said he was sending. Even though their faces were hidden by their masks Sakura could feel their shock when they caught sight of Naruto and Sasuke. On cue they began to form some hand seals, then shouted,

"Kinjutsu: Akuma Shōhi suru no jutsu!" immediately a strange green light appeared and wrapped itself around Naruto and Sasuke, forcing the chakra surrounding them to dissipate. The two ANBU that Sarutobi had sent were the only other persons apart from himself and the council that new about Naruto's true heritage and his strange link with Sasuke, due to the Kyuubi. The ANBU duo had been trained for the day of Naruto's awakening, for Sarutobi knew that when both Naruto and Sasuke's seal were at their weakest stage the Kyuubi would try to manifest itself.

Both Kakashi and Sakura watched helplessly as the two ANBU picked up Naruto and Sasuke, blood splattering on the ground in the process; they Shunshined out of Tazuna's house and back the way they had come to Konoha.

* * *

_One Week Later_

Sakura walked through the village of Konoha blindly, lost in her thoughts. It had been a week since she last saw Naruto and Sasuke, ever since they'd been in ICU and were allowed absolutely no visitor apart from the Hokage. She'd tried to sneak in but two ANBU guarded the door and they easily caught her. Kakashi had called off training until Naruto and Sasuke recovered, so the pinkette had nothing to do but walk around aimlessly, her teammate's conditions haunting her.

She and Kakashi had returned to Konoha the day after Naruto and Sasuke had been taken back by the ANBU. But, before they had left Tazuna had asked them to help him name the bridge. They had all decided on The Great Naruto Bridge, after all Naruto had been the one to save them from Gato. Sakura raised her head to look at the clear blue sky which reminded her of a certain blonde haired gaki. Tears gathered in her eyes as she thought about Naruto. She'd been horrible to him, and deeply regretted it; she'd take back every mean word she had ever said if she could. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to look up at the sky. She now realized that even though Naruto had a happy façade, his blue eyes had always given him away. They beheld a haunted, broken look, a look that tore at her heart. As the tears began to fall faster, guilt consumed her heart once more, eating away at her insides.

"Gomen nasai, please come back, Naruto…" she trailed before adding "you too Sasuke-kun."

* * *

In the dark recess of the eerily silent ICU room two pairs of eyes simultaneously flickered open. One as black as midnight and the other as blue as the midday sky; Naruto felt his eyes open, he turned his head slightly, his blue eyes murky with confusion.

"Where am I?" he whispered, and then everything came rushing back to him. He rested his gaze on the bed opposite him and a small smile turned up his lips. He was not alone anymore, he'd come back, his Sasu-nii had come back. As if sensing his gaze the other Genin turned his head, black eyes meeting blue.

"Naru-nii…" Sasuke whispered, his usually blank eyes overflowing with emotion. Suddenly a familiar voice broke their revere, it was the Sandaime.

"Ah, I see you've woken up, Naruto, Sasuke," said the elderly Hokage said forming on his lips. But seeing the anger burning in their eyes the smile faded from his lips and a sigh escaped.

"You've every right to be angry with me," said the third with a sigh, his brown eyes overflowing with sadness. "I was the one who took Naruto away from the clan. I was led to believe that the Uchiha clan planned to use the Kyuubi to over throw my reign; I quickly took action and ordered for a seal to be put on both of your memories, and one on Naruto to conceal his true appearance and to prevent his Sharingan from activating. When Naruto used the Kyuubi's power in the Land of Waves, it caused the seal on your link as well as Naruto's features to weaken. Also it seemed as if the Kyuubi had been trying to manifest itself by using the weakness in Sasuke's seal, which had come about due to his emotional reaction to the massacre of his clan." Sasuke sat still, his face a blank mask as he tried to process the information he had just hears. The Uchiha felt confused and a whirl of emotions swirled ominously in his mind. He was shocked to find out that the Naru-nii he loved so much was also the dobe he hated, it was an odd mix. The brunette continued to battle his emotions when suddenly it became too much to bear and he leapt out of the hospital bed, grabbing Naruto by the throat and slamming him against the wall.

"Why did you leave me? Don't you remember how I hated being alone, why did you leave me on that day, why?" Sasuke yelled, his black eyes burning with dark emotions.

"I didn't have a choice; the ANBU took me away and restricted me with chains. I tried screaming for you, I tried crying, I tried reaching through to you via our mental link, but nothing worked." Sasuke opened his mouth to give an angry retort, but at that moment he met Naruto's blue eyes and seeing the sadness and pain in them he couldn't continue, but slumped dejectedly against him, releasing the hand around his neck.

"Gomen nasai Naru-nii, but please don't ever leave me again, please," he whispered brokenly, sobs choking his speech.

"Watashi wa yakusoku, I promise," replied Naruto embracing his futago, while his own tears dripped off the end of his nose.

The Sandaime watched as the Uchiha twins clutched each other, pent up emotions overflowing in the form of their tears. He hated to see their sadness, but knew better than to intrude as he was partly the cause of it. The third's brown eyes flickered to Naruto and he flinched slightly. He hated his true appearance; it burned into his memory how much he hated the Uchiha clan. He'd always known the truth but while it lasted he's basked in Naruto's sunny disposition and appearance which he's made to resemble the Yondaime Hokage.

The blue eyed Genin now had the generic pale skin of the Uchiha clan and the effeminate aristocratic features which were identical to Sasuke's. His face was narrower and more sculpted, giving him a slightly older appearance. His blonde hair was replaced by black and was longer, it was styled similarly to Sasuke's except that it was a little less spiky towards the back. His whisker marks had completely faded and lines ran from either eye beside his nose, causing him to resemble Itachi even more so than his twin. Sarutobi shook his head; he knew he would no longer be able to have a father to son relationship with Naruto again, not since he'd found out the truth. He was angry with the third and had every right to be.

Sasuke released Naruto and stepped back, looking at the ground.

"So, are you moving back to the Uchiha compound?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit strange as it lacked the confidence and arrogance it usually had.

"Of course, it's my home!" replied Naruto somewhat indignantly. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, he hate going home alone to the empty blood stained compound. But he was no longer alone, he had his Naru-nii back, he had someone to share the burden of the Sharingan and the curses of the Uchiha clan. He was no longer alone.

The twins walked in a comfortable silence to the Uchiha compound. They'd avoided the main roads as they didn't want people to find out about them just yet. Naruto was still coming to terms with the fact that his aniki had murdered his whole clan as well as immediate family. It was hard for him to think about the fact that he'd never feel his mother's comforting arms around him or see her motherly smile. He'd never be able to see his father's look of pride when he completed a new jutsu. They were gone, forever. Sasuke noticed the sad look on Naruto's face and asked,

"Daijoubou Naru-nii?"

"Hai, I was just thinking about Okaasan and Otousan…" he trailed. At this an angry look crossed Sasuke's face and his black eyes smoldered dangerously.

"I'll never forgive Itachi for what he did; I'll get my revenge on him no matter what it takes." Naruto turned to face Sasuke, his blue eyes boring into Sasuke's black ones.

"We will, "he hissed darkly "we will eliminate Itachi and make him pay for what he has done." His blue eyes darkened to red as his Sharingan awakened, killer intent rolling off him in waves. Sasuke held his gaze, his own Sharingan blazing with a cold murderous intent and an unspoken vow was formed between them. It was then and there that their path had begun; their dark path as avengers had been awakened.

* * *

A few minutes later they walked through the gates of the silent Uchiha compound. Naruto felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him as he returned to his home. They quickly made their way through the compound and to Sasuke's house. Naruto looked around and the memories came flooding back. Everything was just like he remembered it; the only thing that had changed was the absence of his Otousan and Okaasan. The blue eyes brunette abruptly pushed the memories to the back of his mind, it made no sense to think about them, they were gone.

Sasuke opened the door to his bedroom and said,

"I guess you'll have to sleep here, unless you want to sleep in Itachi or Otousan and Okaasan's room." A cold scowl flickered across Naruto's features, he couldn't sleep in Itachi's room, just the sound of his name made him angry and he couldn't sleep in his parents room either, the memories were just too strong.

"Iie, its fine I'll sleep here," after he said that Naruto realized that there was only one bed. Sasuke sensed Naruto's surprise and said,

"Yea, the original beds were deteriorated so I had them replaced with this one, I can sleep on the floor if—"Sasuke was cut off when Naruto abruptly began to speak.

"No its fine, I don't mind, besides the bed is big enough to hold us both." Sasuke nodded then added,

"What about your belongings from your apartment?"

"Che, I didn't have much and the few I had are not worth anything, besides the landlord probably destroyed everything I owned already. He does that every time I am absent for more than two days." Sasuke felt the anger creep up on him again. He hadn't mentioned it to Naruto, but he was furious with the way the villagers treated his brother. Naruto sensed Sasuke's anger and said,

"It doesn't matter Sasuke, I'm used to it now." Sasuke spun to face Naruto, his black eyes burning with anger.

"How can you say that? The people of Konoha treated you like trash for years! They deser—"

Once again Sasuke was interrupted by Naruto.

"Hn, I know, but not now. I'll get my revenge on them, but not now, all in due time Sasu-nii," said the blue eyed Uchiha, his lips twisting into a blood thirsty sneer and his eyes smoldering. Sasuke smiled. It wasn't a smile caused by humor but one of delight and evil intentions.

"Of course, but for now we pretend," said Sasuke and Naruto nodded in agreement and walked towards the beds but caught Sasuke's smirk.

"Oh and we'll have to do something about that orange disaster you wearing first thing in the morning, dobe," said Sasuke but his eyes twinkled playfully. He never gave jokes or anything near to that in public, but in the presence of his futago he was different, he allowed himself to be more human, to show his weaknesses.

"Hn, teme," growled Naruto but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

A bit later the two Uchihas stood in the training field at the Uchiha district, killer intent rolling off them in waves. After reading a scroll from the Uchiha clan library on the Sharingan, to refresh his memory Naruto and Sasuke decided to begin their training. They were determined to fully mature their eyes by the time of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Naruto knew he and Sasuke would have to talk about awakening the Mangekou Sharingan sometime soon, but he couldn't bring himself to just yet, the thought of possibly losing his beloved Sasu-nii so soon was just too much.

Their Sharingans flared into action as they got ready to spare, killer intent high in the air. Their relationship was an odd one due to the curse. They were rivals who sought to kill each other but yet still best friends and brothers who couldn't do without the other. It was strange indeed but it was the life they lived. Naruto raised his head, Sharingan meeting Sharingan.

"Ikuzo!" he said and on cue the two Genins charged at each other.

* * *

Hours later both Naruto and Sasuke lay side by side at the training grounds, covered in blood, cuts and bruises. They were both equal in strength but Sasuke was slightly better at genjutsu and taijutsu and Naruto at ninjutsu and strategizing. But together they made a perfect team. Every bone in Naruto's body was on fire. Sasuke had beaten him by a small bit but he's put up a good fight. The Uchiha turned his head to look at his twin.

"Che, you beat me this time Sasu-nii, but beware because next time I'll be different," said Naruto with a smirk.

"Hn," replied Sasuke stoically, but his black eyes sparkled with a silent challenge. As the two lay side by side they watched as the sky darkened and the glitter of the first stars began to emerge.

"We should get back inside now," said Sasuke, slowly getting to his feet. He held out his hand and Naruto grabbed it pulling himself up, one arm around Sasuke to support his weight.

"Are you ok?" asked Naruto, his tone filled with concern. Sasuke had been really quiet ever since the end of their training session when he'd actually tried to kill Naruto…for some reason the curse was always stronger in Sasuke.

"Yea," replied the raven-haired Genin, not looking Naruto in the eye as they slowly made their way back to their house.

A few minutes later Naruto lay in bed, his back to Sasuke, a small smile on his pale face, He knew the road ahead of him was one of darkness and pain, but he wouldn't be alone, not ever.

Sasuke could feel Naruto's back against his, the latter breathing softly, indicating that he was asleep. Sasuke didn't know if he'd ever be able to forgive himself for what happened earlier. The Uchiha blinked back the moisture in his eyes, he couldn't bear to think about what would have happened is he hadn't stopped himself in time and if Naruto had been weaker.

Ever since the massacre he's been unable to sleep properly, as every time he closed his eyes the bloody images played before him. Of late his nightmares had increased, but he'd learned that it was because of the Kyuubi. But still he was afraid to sleep. It was the one thing he feared, because while sleeping all his guards were down and it allowed the darkest thoughts he'd pushed to the back of his heart to seep in, at that time he was vulnerable, something he despised. These thoughts continued to plague the young Uchiha's mind then he remembered. He wasn't alone anymore, he had his Naru-nii back, he wasn't the only one in the darkness anymore, he wasn't the only one with the burden of the Uchiha clan; he wasn't alone.

"I'm not alone," he whispered into the dark and slowly closed his eyes, accepting sleep, because he knew tonight would be different. He'd probably still have his nightmares, but this time he wouldn't be alone.

* * *

_The Next Day_

The normally rowdy village if Konohagakure no Sato was deadly silent as two figures, sporting the Uchiha fan on their backs made their way through the crowd. The villagers had all heard rumors that another Uchiha has awakened, but no one truly believed it, until now that is.

Naruto smirked as the villagers stepped aside to make way for him and Sasuke, their faces showing nothing but awe, respect and fear. Once he'd feared the villagers but the tides had changed, it was their turn to feel the fear. The silence was soon broken by whispers that had begun to break out. They whispered behind their hands as their eyes followed Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto had head them saying,

"The Kyuubi brat is an Uchiha? No way!"

"He's even more dangerous now, we can't trouble him anymore…"

"Yea, he's elite now." At this particular phrase Naruto's smirk widened, he was glad they knew that, no one would be able to touch him now; he was one of the best.

* * *

The first stop Naruto and Sasuke made was the shinobi clothing and accessories store. Now that Naruto had awakened his true self, Sasuke had insisted that he get rid of his orange jumpsuit, and Naruto was happy to consent. So he'd borrowed some of Sasuke's clothes until he got some of his own.

The store manager bowed respectfully as Naruto and Sasuke entered the shop. Naruto didn't show it but he was impressed. He's never been into a shop like this one as the manager had always thrown him out, saying he didn't want anything to with the Kyuubi brat. He knew the villagers still didn't see him for who he was, but now simply for the fact that he was part of the Uchiha clan, but he didn't care anymore, he'd just make use of them.

"Konnichiwa, how may I help you Uchiha-san?" the brown-haired manager asked Sasuke.

"My brother needs some clothes, mostly black and navy blue with the Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back." The store manager's eyes widened when he heard the word brother and turned expecting to see Itachi, but instead he was met by a blue eyed version of Sasuke.

"The name's Uchiha Naruto, son of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto as well as the twin brother of Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto smirked as the store manager's mouth fell open in shock while Sasuke covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. The manager's expression was priceless.

"Y-you're an Uchiha?" he spluttered.

"Of course, you dare to doubt me, Mr—" said Naruto, purposely leaving a blank after Mr while he narrowed his blue eyes which then darkened to the blood red of the infamous Sharingan, its tomoe spinning dangerously.

"N-no, my apologies, and the name's Sumino-san," stammered the manager, lowering his eyes to the ground in a mixture of awe, fear and respect.

"Good," said Naruto stoically "now, the clothes Sumino-san," he said while raising one dark eyebrow impatiently. At this Sasuke coughed to hide his laughter.

'He nearly wet his pants,' said Sasuke via their mental link.

'Che, serves him right,' replied Naruto, his smirk widening.

"I'll be right back," said Sumino "I'm going to fetch my daughter, she's quite good with clothing." Naruto just 'hn'd', his expression a cold mask as the man scurried off.

A few seconds later he returned with a brown haired girl around Naruto and Sasuke's age. She wore her hair streaming down her back and was dressed in a formal kimono made from the finest of materials.

"How may I help you Uchiha-san?" she asked Naruto politely. The blue eyed Uchiha explained to her what he wanted; then she told him to sit down on the stool provided so she could measure him.

"Ano, please remove your shirt Naruto-san," she said, blushing profusely as Naruto did so, revealing his well toned chest. Sasuke smirked at her reaction while saying mentally to Naruto,

'Looks like you've got yourself a fan.'

'Che, don't be jealous teme,' Naruto replied playfully while Sasuke smirked but said nothing.

After much measuring and decision Naruto decided on a black ANBU style vest with the Uchiha fan on the back along with a navy blue muscle shirt underneath. Standard black shinobi pants and sandals, crimson fingerless gloves with metal plates across the knuckles and black chakra absorbing metal guards for his hands; he also got a couple of black shorts and t-shirts with the Uchiha fan. Sasuke had also decided on a similar outfit to Naruto's except that his vest was navy blue while the under shirt was black.

After paying for their purchases and getting the dare when they could return for them the two Uchihas headed for the weaponry store. A few minutes later Naruto and Sasuke entered Konoha's best weaponry shop. It was the first time Naruto has been in a weaponry shop, so he stood in awe, admiring the rows and rows of gleaming weapons. He'd always gotten the small amount of kunai and shuriken he had second hand, so to be able to buy some of his own was elating. Sasuke saw the expression on Naruto's face and smiled slightly, but then the realization hit him. His niisan had never had anything new before, everything he usually got was second hand and damaged. That would explain his horrible aim when they were practicing weapon throwing at the academy.

* * *

After a few minutes of searching the two Uchihas finally decided on what they wanted and needed. Naruto got a new set of kunai, shuriken and other ninja tools. He and Sasuke also decided to get custom made chakra kodachis. Naruto's had a blood red hilt and the black and white yin and yang sign engraved on along with a black blade which he could channel both yin and yang chakra into. Sasuke's had black handle and pure white blade. The two Uchiha's paid the black smith and headed off, promising to return in 2 weeks time for their purchases.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke sat in the dark recess of the hidden underground Uchiha library; papers, books and scrolls scattered around them. Naruto looked up from a scroll he'd been reading about the Mangekou Sharingan and said,

"How are we going to attain the Mangekou Sharingan? One of us will have to die…" he trailed, his blue eyes distant.

"Che, we'll figure out something, because I don't want to lose you again just because of power," replied Sasuke quietly, his cold black eyes softening with sadness.

"Ah," Naruto agreed, nodding his head ever so slightly. A wry smile twisted his lips,

"But if push came to shove I'd let you kill me so you could have the Mangekou Sharingan…" said the blue eyed Uchiha softly.

"Naruto…you…" trailed Sasuke in shock, he hadn't expected his futago to say something like he had.

"Anyhow," said Naruto changing the subject "I found a scroll which vaguely mentioned something about the Sharingan being able to control the Kyuubi."

"Yea, it's an old Uchiha legend," replied Sasuke.

"Well if it's actually true it would come in quite handy," said Naruto while grinning wickedly.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked in agreement. Naruto picked up a book and began to leaf through it then he said,

"The Yondaime was a good friend of Otousan's and he didn't have any children so all his scrolls on Fūinjutsu and his famous Hiraishin were left to us…the Sandaime told me." At this Sasuke's mouth fell open in shock and after composing himself he said,

"The Hiraishin would be a good asset along with the Sharingan." Naruto nodded in agreement then added,

"I was thinking of sealing off the cells of the Mangekou Sharingan that makes us go blind, I'm not sure it would work; only time will tell."

After discussing the Fūinjutsu the two Uchihas decided to retrieve the Yondaime's scrolls on the morrow, which were hidden in the cave behind the Hokage Mountain. In the mean time they decided to continue training their Sharingan, enhance their taijutsu, ninjutsus, genjutsus and speed. Naruto had a set of Kage Bunshins working on taijutsu and another on genjutsu while he worked on his ninjutsus. He worked on Katon and Fuiton while Sasuke worked on Katon and Raiton. They were determined to be stronger by time the Chuunin Selection exams arrived.

* * *

Hours later both Naruto and Sasuke lay panting on the hard ground of the training field, their Kage Bunshins had long since dispelled and the sun had begun to set, but they could feel it already, they were stronger, strength and power flowed through their veins, the true untainted Uchiha blood had not failed them.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Naruto's lips and he said,

"You can come out now…Kakashi-sensei." On cue the silver haired Cyclops appeared, his one visible eye bent into its familiar U shape indicating he was smiling. The Jounin chuckled sheepishly and said,

"From when did you sense me?"

"From we entered the compound," answered Sasuke abruptly before adding, "What do you want?" The Jounin immediately dropped his pretense of smiling and his grey eye hardened. He pushed up the hitai ate that covered his left eye and while his Sharingan blazed he said,

"The Sandaime sent me here to train you two, now get up, we have work to do," he finished coldly, reverting to his ANBU ways. The two boys staggered to their feet; there was no room for argument. They could see it in their Sensei's eyes, he was going to push them past their limit and to their breaking point; their path as legendary Shinobi had only just begun.

A/N : Plz review i really like to hear from my readers!

thanks to everyone who reviewed, you made my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Some Hours Later

Naruto and Sasuke lay, once again, on the floor of the training grounds, barely able to move; having only the Kyuubi's chakra left to keep them conscious. As promised Kakashi had not gone easy on them, he'd treated them like any other enemy.

"Come to Team 7's training grounds tomorrow at 8:00 am," said Kakashi emotionlessly before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Sasu-nii…" trailed Naruto weakly, inching his tired and sore body closer to his twin,

"Ah?" answered Sasuke quietly.

"You can feel it, can't you? Something awful is going to happen…so promise me, promise me you'll never leave me alone no matter what."

"I promise," whispered Sasuke before he succumbed to the dark pit of unconsciousness.

Meanwhile many miles away, while the eyes of the Uchiha twins closed a pair of golden snake-like ones opened; flickering to life.

"Ah, the time has come…Kabuto," said the raspy voice, the owner's tongue gliding out of its mouth and grotesquely licking its lips.

The Next Day

Sakura tapped her foot impatiently, she'd gotten a message from Kakashi to come to Team 7's training grounds at 8:00 am, but so far she was the only one who'd arrived. Sakura turned her green eyes to the pure blue sky above, losing herself in thought.

"Naruto…Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, flashes of their blood soaked bodies and rotting skin played before her mind's eye. She hadn't seen her two teammates for weeks and their absence left a strange pit of loneliness in her stomach. As she thought about her teammates her thoughts switched solely to the blue eyed one. The pinkette had heard rumors that Naruto was now an Uchiha.

"Usotsuki….liars, it can't be―" she began but stopped in mid sentence when the air around her turned to wind; which then gathered into a swirling vortex. When it died away the air cleared to reveal two black-haired Genin in its place. Naruto and Sasuke had arrived.

"Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, her face lighting up; then her eyes switched to the strange boy beside him. "Who is―" she began but halted when the boy turned to face her, his familiar blue eyes meeting her green ones. Only one person had those eyes.

"Naruto?" she whispered in disbelief. "The rumors are true…" she said but her expression was still that of a question.

"Ah," answered Naruto, his strange voice startling her. "The rumors are true; Sasuke is my oniisan, my twin brother to be exact." Suddenly Sakura felt dizzy and she took a step back, one small hand covering her mouth.

"Who are you two? And what did you do with the Sasuke and Naruto I know?" she whispered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. The pinkette took another step back. There was so much darkness, anger, pain and sadness surrounding these two; she didn't know them, they were two heartless, revenge filled beings that reveled in the things of the darkness…they were avengers, true avengers. Sakura shook her head, her voice a mere whisper at first then it changed to a yell.

"Iie, iie, iie!" she screamed "these are not my teammates…these are..are…" she trailed as the tears spilled over.

"Hn, I'm glad you realize, Sakura," said Sasuke, a slight smirk twisting his lips.

"We are no longer the same, we have chosen our fated paths, our paths as avengers, our path in the darkness," hissed Naruto, his blue eyes darkening.

"Sakura," he continued quietly, almost softly, while taking a step forward, putting his hand on the Kunoichi's shoulder and leaning over so that his lips were close to her ears.

"You will tell no one what we have told you," he commanded, his voice dangerously soft and laced with poison.

"H-hai," stammered Sakura; trembling from head to toe with fear.

A few minutes later Kakashi arrived, and he noticed nothing amiss except for Sakura's tear stained eyes, which he decided to ask her about after he announced the news. Kakashi pulled three white slips of paper from his pocket and handed one to each member of Team 7.

"Those are the application forms for the Chuunin Selection Exams, which will be taking place here in Konohagakure no Sato in two months time," explained Kakashi. At this Sakura's eyes widened with shock.

"D-Do you think we're ready, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked hesitantly, not meeting her sensei's eyes.

"Hai," answered Kakasi "but do you think you're ready Sakura?" Sakura looked down at the ground, trying to hide her lack of confidence; but not before Naruto and Sasuke had seen her self doubt.

After Naruto and Sasuke had left the training field Sakura turned to leave when Kakashi stopped her.

"Sakura, a minute please," he said, while motioning for her to stand beside him. Sakura quickly obeyed, then looked quizzically up at Kakashi.

"Nani?" she asked as she watched something inside of Kakashi's eyes change and he became sombre.

"Why were you crying earlier?" he asked seriously.

"I wasn't..." lied Sakura. Kakashi's eyes hardened.

"Don't lie to me Sakura," he said warningly. "Was it something Naruto or Sasuke did?"

Sakura opened her mouth to agree, but then she remembered Naruto's hot breath on her ear and his soft dark words that had seeped like poison into the pores of her skin and into her very being.

"Its nothing Kakashi-sensei, I promise, its nothing," she lied, swallowing to quell her nervousness. Kakashi watched Sakura intensley. He could tell she was hiding something, but exactly what, that was what he could not decipher. But he decided to drop the matter, but not before saying,

"Do not disappoint me, Sakura," and with that disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

After Kakashi left Sakura sank to her knees, giving in to the fear and weakness that had overcome her. She had lied to her sensei, directly so. She hated doing it but just the thought of Naruto's dark, intense blue eyes sent shivers down her spine, and not the good kind either. As the pinkette began her guilt trip, once again tears spilled over, creating watery green pools in the depths of emotion that were called her eyes. Confusion clouded her ability to think and she began to panic. She didn't know what to do. She hated lying to her sensei but she knew she couldn't reveal Naruto and Sasuke's secret, plus she knew she wasn't ready for the Chuunin Exams. But if she didn't enter then her team couldn't and Naruto and Sasuke would be furious. Just the thought of a furious Naruto and Sasuke gave her the chills.

"I must me strong, I must," whispered Sakura, her green eyes hardening with determination and an image of two dark haired Uchiha twins came to mind. "For them I must, I must not disappoint them, I must become strong," she repeated, then got to her feet and headed off in the direction of the Konoha library, her resolved hardened.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke walked along an empty street in Konoha, heading towards their home when the screams of,

"Let me go, let me go!" filled their ears. As they rounded the corner they saw a shinobi wearing a black jumpsuit with a hood that had cat-like ears. He was holding a small boy with a long scarf around his neck; strangling him.

"Be quiet, teme gaki," sneered the black clad nin, his purple kabuki painted face twisting into a sneer.

Naruto's blue eyes flickered to the shiny metal protector on the nin's hood.

'He's a Suna-nin,' thought Naruto as he recognized the hourglass sign. 'He must have come here for the Chuunin Exams.' The brunette's eyes switched back to the young boy whom he instantly recognized as Konohamaru Sarutobi. A smirk formed on Naruto's lips and he silently drew a kunai, and with precise aim flung it so that it lodged in the Suna-nin's arm, causing him to howl in pain and drop Konohamaru.

"Kuso!" cursed the nin "whoever did that come out and face me, I'll pound you to bits!" Naruto smirked and said to Sasuke via their mental link,

'_I'll handle this one, I'll make him wet his pants.'_

_'Che, just be careful Naru-nii, we can't give away ourselves yet,' _replied Sasuke mentally.

_'Ah, I know.' _

Naruto stepped out of the trees lining the street, his head held low, his eyes closed. Kakuro sensed his presence and turned to face him.

"Huh?" he sneered "so you were the one who threw the kunai, heh, looks like this is the end for you, genin," he smirked. At this Naruto's head snapped up and his eyes flew open revealing the blood red Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. A leer filled with blood lust twisted his lips, then he said,

"You were saying..." Kakuro took a step back. This was no ordinary ninja. The look in his eyes reminded him strongly of his younger brother. Naruto smirked when he noticed Kankuro's fear.

"No one messed with the shinobi of my village, Suna-san," he hissed as he drew another kunai, twirling it in his fingers as he took a step closer towards Kankuro. Naruto opened his mouth to say something when a vortex of sand whirled in between him and Kakuro, fading away to reveal a boy around his age with spiky red hair and a gourd of sand strapped to his back.

"Kankuro," said the boy, his voice surprisingly deep and throaty. "Didn't I tell you not to get into trouble?"

"G-Gomen nasai—" stammered Kankuro in fear and began to launch an explanation but was cut off by Gaara.

"Yurusei, I'll kill you!" he growled, his green eyes narrowing.

_'He's a Jinchuuriki,' _said Sasuke to Naruto mentally.

_'Ah,' _agreed Naruto _'Only Jinchuurikis have that much chakra and that aura.' _Gaara turned to face Naruto, his green eyes meeting Naruto's red ones.

'He's like me, his eyes look like mine,' thought Gaara and let out a small dark chuckle. 'Kaasan wail enjoy tasting his blood!' Sasuke noticed the killing intent in Gaara's eyes and hopped down from his place in a nearby tree, landing beside Naruto.

"Who are you?" he asked Gaara rudely.

"Sabuku no Gaara," replied the red head, inclining his head slightly, waiting for Sasuke to respond.

"Uchiha Sasuke," replied the brunette. Gaara turned slightly in Naruto's direction.

"And you?" he asked darkly.

"Uchiha Naruto," answered Naruto, his Sharingan swirling dangerously. The air filled with tension but was soon broken by the arrival of a tall blonde with her spiky blonde hair in four ponytails, causing her to greatly resemble a porcupine.

"Gaara, Kankuro," she said reprovingly "I've been looking all over for you two, what have you been doing? Let's go back—" she didn't finish as Gaara interrupted her with a growl.

"Yurusei Temari, no one gives me orders, especially not you."

"H-hai, gomen nasai Gaara," she whispered, lowering her head, but not before Naruto and Sasuke saw the fear in her eyes. Gaara cast one last look at Naruto and Sasuke before turning to go while saying,

"I look forward to fighting you in the Chuunin Exams, Kaasan will love to taste your blood, how pleased she'll be..." he trailed darkly, while grotesquely licking his lips. Naruto and Sasuke smirked simultaneously, raising their chakra as they did so.

"Hn, we'll be waiting, Gaara," spat Naruto, his now blue eyes narrowing dangerously. With that Gaara strode away, calling to Kankuro and Temari.

"Ikuzo," and the three of them took off over the roof tops, disappearing into the distance.

A forgotten Konohamaru inched closer to Naruto, fear showing in his eyes. This person was no longer the Naruto that he once knew. How he longed for the fake blue eyed, blonde haired happy-go-lucky Naruto to retun.

"Ano...arigatou," Konohamaru managed to say, trembling with fear as Naruto's blue eyes snapped to his attention.

"Hn," grunted the Uchiha ans with that strode off, his beloved Sasu-nii at his side.


End file.
